Emma Watson to Star in HARRY POTTER Director David Yates’ YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD; Tom Hanks and George Clooney Eyed for Male Lead

Though the Harry Potter franchise has come to an end, a reunion of sorts is already in the works. David Yates, who directed the last four Potter films, has chosen the drama Your Voice in My Head as his next project, and now he’s in discussions with Emma Watson to star. The film is based on the memoir by Emma Forrest and centers on “a young woman who attempts suicide before being saved by a New York-based psychiatrist who’s dying of cancer.” It’s some pretty heady stuff, and I commend Yates for choosing a small, intimate character drama as his follow-up to the massive Potter franchise. Hit the jump for more, including who Warner Bros. is looking at for the male lead and the possibility of Ralph Fiennes or Bryan Singer directing the studio’s Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game.

Further completing the Harry Potter reunion on Your Voice in My Head is the fact that Warner Bros. is negotiating to acquire the film. As for the male lead in the project, Deadline reports that the studio is aiming for a big name as Tom Hanks and George Clooney are apparently in the mix. Personally, I’m ecstatic to see Yates take on such delicate dramatic material. I felt he capped the Harry Potter franchise off perfectly with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, and I’m incredibly excited to see where he takes his career next.

Warner Bros. was keen on keeping Yates in house, as they previously offered Yates the multi-film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand andthe Alan Turing biopic The ImitationGame. Yates turned both projects down, but Deadline’s report on Voice notes that WB is now putting together a list of potential directors for The Imitation Game that includes Ralph Fiennes and Bryan Singer. Fiennes recently made his directorial debut with Coriolanus, while Singer’s next film Jack the Giant Killer was recently pushed back to 2013.

The Imitation Game is fascinating story and Leonardo DiCapriohas expressed interest in playing Turing, a homosexual mathematician who was criminally prosecuted for his sexuality and subjected to chemical castration. I’m sure we’ll hear more on the project soon by way of a shortlist of directors that WB is considering.